Hamburg Freezers
The Hamburg Freezers were a professional men's ice hockey club from Hamburg, Germany that played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The club announced its withdrawal from the DEL and ceased operations on 24 May 2016 when Anschutz Entertainment Group, who owned both the Freezers and Eisbären Berlin, felt it was no longer financially viable to own two teams within the same hockey league.
| Hamburg Freezers | |
|---|---|
| Nickname | Iceboxes |
| City | Hamburg, Germany |
| League | Deutsche Eishockey Liga |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Folded | 2016 |
| Home arena | Barclaycard Arena Hamburg (capacity: 13,000) |
| Colours | Light blue, navy, white, gray |
| Owner(s) | Anschutz Entertainment Group |
| Captain | Christoph Schubert |
| Website | hamburg-freezers.de |
| Franchise history | |
| 1999–2002 | Munich Barons |
| 2002–2016 | Hamburg Freezers |
The Freezers were originally known as the Munich Barons from 1999 until 2002, before team owner Philip Anschutz relocated the franchise to Hamburg for financial reasons on 3 June 2002. The club was renamed as the Hamburg Freezers. Their German nickname was Eisschränke (iceboxes).
The team's official colours were crystal blue and white and they played their home games in the Barclaycard Arena Hamburg.
Goaltender Jean-Sébastien Giguère suited up for the Freezers during the 2004–05 NHL lockout season. Giguère played six games for Hamburg and posted a .925 save percentage, with a goals against average of 2.39.
During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, Dallas Stars forward Jamie Benn lined up for the Freezers in 19 games, amassing 7 goals and 13 assists, earning him a player of the month award for November.